Solstice, sunshine and the sacred 

This beautiful golden pendant is one of the most important pieces of Bronze Age jewellery found in Britain. It dates to about 1000–800 BC and one side is decorated with a depiction of the sun rising, or setting, on a curved horizon. Solar symbolism was a key element of mythology and belief across Europe during the Bronze Age, from around 4,500 to 2,800 years ago. From the design of stone circles such as Stonehenge, which marked both midwinter and midsummer, to portable and 'possessable' objects such as this pendant, the sun was celebrated as the essential source and rhythm of life by early farming communities.

In a moment around 3,000 years ago, the pendant was cast into a still pond dotted with waterlilies, as scientific analysis funded by the Museum has recently shown. This impressive sacrifice was probably made in the hope of receiving something in return. There is evidence that life was becoming more warlike at this time, which was probably to do with growing social and environmental pressures. Its owners may have hoped for better harvests, the resolution of violent feuds or simply for the return of the sun in its perilous path across the heavens.

Discovered by a metal detector enthusiast in the Shropshire Marches in 2018 and declared as Treasure under the Portable Antiquities Scheme managed by the British Museum, it was purchased for the Museum with support from the Art Fund and the American Friends of the British Museum.

Neil Wilkin, Curator: Early Europe
Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory

This small stone object from Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq), made 4,000 years ago, is one of the most famous cylinder seals in the British Museum collection. Cylinder seals had engraved scenes that left an impression in relief (as a raised surface) when rolled out on clay generally attached to sealed goods. The scene depicted on this object shows the leading deities of the Mesopotamian pantheon including the sun god, who was known as Utu in Sumerian (the language of Mesopotamia's earliest known civilisation, Sumer) and Shamash in Akkadian (a language originating in central Mesopotamia that supplanted Sumerian).  

Utu/Shamash is portrayed with a horned crown and rays on his shoulders, cutting his way through the mountains thanks to his saw-toothed blade in order to rise at dawn. For the ancient Mesopotamians, he represented the radiant, awe-inspiring light of the sun, which returns every day to illuminate the life of mankind. Emerging from the mountains in the East, he made the daily journey across the skies to enter what the ancient Mesopotamians called the 'interior of heaven' once again at dusk, on the western horizon. The cult of Utu/Shamash is attested from the very earliest of times.

Sébastien Rey, Curator: Ancient Mesopotamia
Department of the Middle East

Japan never developed a major custom of celebrating the summer solstice, but the sun does hold a significant position in the Indigenous Japanese faith, Shintō.

The sun goddess Amaterasu – descended from the union between Izanagi and Izanami, who gave birth both to the islands of Japan and to other major deities, and the first ruler of the Plain of High Heaven – is central to Shintō. In one of the key myths, Amaterasu, offended by the coarse behaviour of her brother Susanoo-no-mikoto, hid in a cave, plunging the universe into darkness and chaos.

This painting depicts the scene when the other deities gathered outside the cave, trying to lure her out. Attracted by activities of merriment from the assembled deities, Amaterasu peeked out from the cave and thus the world regained light and order. Amaterasu is considered the ancestral deity of the imperial family and is worshipped at one of the most important Shintō shrines, Ise Jingū, on Japan's Mie Prefecture.

Sophie Gong, Research Assistant: Creative Collaborations
Department of Asia

For Muslims around the world the sun holds a special place in association with their faith and religious practices – and its daily journey across the sky determines the times of the five daily prayers. Since the AD 900s, time- and location-measuring instruments such as planispheric astrolabes have been used to calculate the sun's position in the sky at any given time, to help determine prayer times accurately and precisely.

This striking planispheric astrolabe is one of a number in the British Museum collection. It was made during the Islamic period in Spain, between the 1200s and 1300s, and has been incised in both Arabic and Latin markings. It includes two removable plates inscribed with marks that help locate the sun's position for the times of prayer: at dawn; at midday; in the afternoon, when the extent of the shadow of an object reaches a certain predetermined length, usually double its length; at sunset; and at nighttime when the sunlight totally disappears.

Astrolabes like this one also helped chart the course of the sun through the year, and to determine its position in association with other planets and stars, and in relation to cosmic constellations. These readings were used for astrological purposes, to assist those studying the celestial spheres to predict events on earth and foretell the future.

Noorah Al-Gailani, Curator: Islamic Collections (Arab World)
Department of the Middle East 

This spectacular stone ritual vessel hails from late 15th-century Peru. It was found in Cusco, the former capital of the Inca empire (1400–1532), among the ruins of what had been the Qoricancha – or 'Temple of the Sun'. This temple, in which the vessel was probably housed, was dedicated to the sun god, Inti.

The sun was of great importance to the Inca peoples because of its necessity for the production of vital crops. On every winter solstice, which generally falls around the 24 June, the Inti Raymi (sun festival) was held in honour of Inti to celebrate the start of the new planting season. The temple was at the centre of this festival which, as well as involving feasting, incorporated elements of ritual and sacrifice, usually of llamas, and lasted for nine days.

Although suppressed by the Spanish after they conquered the Inca empire in 1533, resulting in an incalculable loss of lives and the brutal repression of Indigenous ways of life, Inti Raymi had a major revival in the early 20th century. Today, while it may not retain all the features of the original festival – gone are the sacrificial ceremonies, of course, and it only lasts for one day – it is still celebrated on the 24 June and is of great importance to the present-day Cusco inhabitants of Inca descent. This is because it allows them to acknowledge and honour their ancestors at the site of the Temple of the Sun, formerly a place of deep reverence and cultural importance. Nowadays, with the 21st-century incursion of cultural tourism, the festival has taken on the role of a spectator event. Visitors flock to the site to witness the colourful ceremony involving the local Cusqueños, attired in traditional costume, performing rituals, recreations and dances celebrating their historic pre-Columbian past and, in particular, their worship of Inti.

James Hamill, Curator
Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas